From Father Rol Hoverstock, Rector:I’m intrigued by the word civility. It appears in lots of discussions these days. Society seems to have forgotten what it means to be civil. Acts of hostility — or even cruelty — are routinely reported in our headlines. Officials in Congress, elected to represent the citizenry, are at war with one another. Confrontation on the entertainment stage becomes news. And incivility is now a part of sports rhetoric.
I believe these scary demonstrations of aggression must cause us to examine ourselves and our ability to create a just way of life. I know they cause me to look in the mirror and question whether, as God’s people, we are indeed capable of living together in harmony. I find the current climate of incivility disingenuous, mean spirited, arrogant, and noisy, but I have an antidote for all of us — or at least one that works for me.
The antidote is to go to church. Time in church just might be the beginning of the cure — a space to create a change of heart in our collective ability to make a more civilized life together. In the Episcopal Church, our way is a spirituality of understatement. We have a love for the beauty of places and words, of the acceptance of others who might not always agree with us, of the acceptance of the fact that even when we use all the grace given to us we may still have only moments of understanding. We know that we don’t know it all, and we embrace the opportunity to learn from the “other” guy. We see ourselves as neither fools nor fanatics as we seek to follow our Lord in a world which is often perplexing and sometimes crucifying.
So when you’re disheartened by the incivility of the world around you, you might think about spending some time in church. We certainly invite you to join us at St. John’s, but wherever you worship, we pray you will find peace and civility to help you through these troubled times.
